BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2067
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2067 (Bonnie Lowenthal)
As Introduced February 18, 2010
Majority vote
TRANSPORTATION 14-0
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|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, | | |
| |Jeffries, | | |
| |Bill Berryhill, | | |
| |Blumenfield, Buchanan, | | |
| |Eng, Furutani, Galgiani, | | |
| |Hayashi, Miller, Niello, | | |
| |Norby, Portantino, | | |
| |Solorio | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows parking on the left side of the road on streets
in Long Beach meeting specified criteria. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Allows the City of Long Beach (City), by ordinance or
resolution, to authorize vehicles to park on the left-hand
side of the roadway parallel to and within 18 inches of the
left-hand curb on two-way local residential streets that
dead-end with no cul-de-sac or other designated area in which
to turn around, if the City has first made a finding,
supported by a professional engineering study, that the
ordinance or resolution is justified by the need to facilitate
the safe and orderly movement of vehicles on the roadways
affected by the resolution or ordinance.
2)Allows such an ordinance or resolution to designate certain
streets or portions of streets on which the permission
applies.
3)Prohibits such an ordinance or resolution from being applied
until signs or markings giving adequate notice have been
placed near the designated roadways.
4)Makes findings and declarations regarding the necessity of
enacting a special law due to Long Beach residents needing
AB 2067
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safer access into and out of uniquely impacted streets.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, with specified exceptions, every vehicle that stops
or parks on a roadway where there are adjacent curbs to have
its right-hand wheels parallel with and within 18 inches of
the right-hand curb.
2)Requires right-hand parallel parking on two-way roadways with
no curbs or barriers, unless otherwise indicated.
3)Allows vehicles on one-way roadways to be stopped or parked
with the left-hand wheels parallel to and within 18 inches of
the left-hand curb.
4)Requires parallel parking on either side of a one-way roadway
with no curbs or barriers, unless otherwise indicated.
5)Allows a vehicle to be backed onto a highway only when such a
movement can be made with reasonable safety.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Current statutes require motorists to park their
vehicles in the same direction as the flow of traffic (i.e., on
the right side of two-way roadways and on either side of one-way
roadways). The premise for this requirement is that it helps to
avoid head-on collisions with oncoming traffic that would be
risked when entering or exiting parking spaces that face the
flow of traffic.
According to the author of this bill, "The 'Peninsula' area of
Long Beach has a significant number of narrow, parking impacted
dead-end streets with little room for vehicle maneuverability.
These over-crowded streets with no cul-de-sacs create conditions
that expose drivers to inconvenient situations when attempting
to get into and out of these streets and increase the risk that
vehicles parked or maneuvering through the street will sustain
damage in an accident. A consequence of these conditions has
been the practice of residents and visitors to illegally park
their vehicles facing the wrong direction on the street.
Parking citations are given to vehicles in violation of this
code, which has led to frustrated residents who feel the
AB 2067
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crowded, impacted conditions subject them to greater risk of
property damage and more difficulty while navigating their
streets."
Enactment of this bill, by enabling all vehicles to park toward
the dead-end of specified streets where it is impractical to
turn around, would essentially require that they back out of the
street when exiting. This, in itself, poses potential safety
problems. The author, however, points out that, "Backing up
onto a street is legal. Peninsula residents have been
performing this action for some time without any significant
negative safety impacts being observed." This bill further
assures that an engineering analysis will have indicated
left-side parking to be the best traffic solution in any
particular setting before it is authorized.
Legislative history: This bill is a reintroduction of the
author's AB 213 from 2009, which the Governor vetoed, saying,
"This bill addresses parking concerns affecting a few small
streets in one city and can be handled at the local level
without a change to state statutes." Prior to its being vetoed,
AB 213 received unanimous votes throughout the legislative
process.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0003824